"We Believe in Being Chaste: Chastity in the Home," By Shana Brown

●        “For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women.”   Jacob 2:28 

●        “that which [is] most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue—” Moroni 9:9
●        “I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto been.”  Jacob 2:3

How are we able to inspire chastity in the home?    

1. Minister much in word 
2. Labor diligently Jacob 4:1-3

“Teaching and learning should occur often. Learning is a process rather than a single event. When it comes to teaching children about sexual intimacy or other related matters, people often refer to it as “the talk.” Whether intended or not, this term implies that parents teach this topic in a single conversation. That is not the most effective way for a child to learn. The Savior taught that we learn “line upon line, precept upon precept” (2 Nephi 28:30). We will have more success teaching as we revisit the topic with our children as they age and mature. Parents who understand this principle prepare themselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to teach their children about sexually related topics during their children’s childhood and adolescence.”   -Matthew O. Richardson; ”Teaching Chastity and Virtue”, Ensign, October 2012

“Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”   D&C 11:20-21

We Believe in Being Chaste, General Conference April 2013

“My message addresses a. question of great spiritual consequence: Why is the law of chastity so important?”

“The eternal importance of chastity can only be understood within the ...context of our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness…”  (Elder Bednar, April 2013)

Who are we?

1. “Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents...”

2. All lived with God before coming to earth.

3. All human beings-male and female- are created in the image of God.

(The Family: A Proc to the World; Jer 1:4-5; Teachings of George Albert Smith, pg. 70; Gen 1:26-27)

Why were we sent to earth?  1. To obtain physical bodies   2. To gain mortal experience  3. To progress toward exaltation

What is the importance of having a body?

“Our physical bodies make possible a BREADTH, a DEPTH, and an INTENSITY of experience that...could not be obtained in our premortal existence.”   (Elder Bednar, April 2013)

BREADTH + DEPTH + INTENSITY= AMPLIFIED      def. of “amplify”- to make larger, greater, or stronger

Which experiences are amplified with a body? 1. Relationships 2. Capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth 3. Ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ

Why do we need these experiences? “Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, ‘according to the flesh’; In the school of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even challenges of physical limitations in ways that PREPARE US FOR ETERNITY.” (Elder Bednar, April 2013; Moses 1:39)

After Adam was placed on the earth, God said, ‘it was not good that man should be alone’ . . . Eve became Adam’s wife and helpmeet. (Moses 3:!8, Gen 2:18)

The first commandment God gave to Adam & Eve, as HUSBAND and WIFE, pertained to their potential for parenthood . . .(The Family: A Proclamation to the World; Moses 2:28, Gen 1:28)

Why is MARRIAGE between A MAN & A WOMAN essential?

1. The unique combination of both males & females: spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally . . is needed to enact The Plan of HAPPINESS!”(Elder Bednar, April 2013)

2. “Children are ENTITLED to birth within the bonds of matrimony.”(The Family: A Proclamation to the World”)

“The means by which mortal life is created is divinely appointed . . .Thus, marriage between a man and a woman is THE AUTHORIZED channel through which pre mortal spirits enter mortality.” (Bednar, April 2013)

Authorized def. as “given authority” ; Authority def. as “a power given”

“Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are creators and have entrusted each of us with a portion of

THEIR CREATIVE POWER.”     (Elder Bednar, April 2013)

“Specific guidelines for the proper use of the ability to create life are vital elements in the Father’s plan.”(Elder Bednar, April 2013) 

WHY? “Complete sexual abstinence before marriage and total fidelity within marriage PROTECT the SANCTITY of this sacred channel.”

By assigning such seriousness to a physical appetite so universally bestowed, what is God trying to tell us about its place in His plan for all men and women? I submit to you He is doing precisely that- commenting about the very plan of life itself.  Clearly among His greatest concerns regarding mortality are how one gets into this world and how one gets out of it.  He has set very strict limits in these matters.’   (Jeffrey R Holland, Personal Purity, October 1998)

Know specific guidelines 1. For the Strength of Youth 2.https://www.lds.org/youth/video/chastity-what-are-the-limits?lang=eng

Why is it important to really KNOW and UNDERSTAND the specific guidelines?

“How we feel about and use that supernal power will determine in large measure our HAPPINESS in mortality and our destiny in eternity.”

Feelings about and use of procreative power really determines our HAPPINESS?

WHY?  Such relations are . . .1. “One of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential.” 2. “A way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife.”

Why is it so challenging to live the law of chastity?

“The very elements of of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death.  Consequently, the Fall . . . and its spiritual and temporal consequences affect us most directly through our physical bodies.”  (Elder Bednar, April 2013)

“The precise nature of the test of mortality . . .can be summarized in the following question: Will I respond to the . . . natural man, or will I yield to the . . . Holy Spirit and put off the natural man . . .through the Atonement of Christ? That is THE TEST.”  (Elder Bednar, April 2013; Mos 3:19)

Man or Woman of Christ: Spiritual, Bridles all passions, Temperate and restrained, Benevolent and selfless

Natural Man or Woman:Unrepentant, Carnal and sensual, Indulgent and excessive, Prideful and selfish

“Because a physical body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness and our spiritual development, Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly . . . The very tool he does not have is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to spiritual destruction.” (Elder Bednar, April 2013)

In the Father’s Plan we are: guided, happy, safely home w/ Him, together in light, filled with hope

Lucifer labors to make us: confused, unhappy, hindered in progress, alone in the dark, without hope     (Elder Bednar, April 2013)

Satan “does not have a body, and his eternal progression has been halted.  Just as water flowing in a riverbed is stopped by a dam, so the adversary’s eternal progress is thwarted because he does not have a physical body. . . . He cannot learn the lessons that only an embodied spirit can learn . . . One of the potent scriptural meanings of the word damned is illustrated in his inability to continue developing and becoming like our Heavenly Father.” 

Violating the law of chastity is . . .1. a grievous sin 2. misuse of our physical tabernacles 3. an act of rebellion for those who know and understand

4. a denial of our true identity as a son/daughter of God  (Elder Bednar, April 2013; Personal Purity, Elder Holland, Oct 1998)

"No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations." (Pres Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Infinite Power of Hope, October 2008)

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”  (2 Ne 25:26)

“I can think of no blessings to be more fervently desired than those promised to the pure and the virtuous.  Jesus spoke of specific rewards for different virtues but reserved the greatest, so it seems to me, for the pure in heart, ‘for they,’ said he, ‘shall see God.’ And not only shall they see the Lord, but they shall feel at home in his presence . . . Here is the Savior’s promise: ‘Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God’.” (Pres Marion G Romney, Trust in the Lord, Ensign, May 1979, pg. 42; Matt 5:8; D&C 121:45)

Please follow this link below for this class's slideshow: We Believe in Being Chaste

References I used or suggested for study and use​​:

• D&C 11:21: Promise of learning and studying applies to the law of chastity too.  As parents, our tongues will be loosed and we will have the Spirit and power of God to help us teach our children. 
• "We Believe in Being Chaste" by Elder Bednar, General Conference April 2013
• "Personal Purity" by Elder Holland, General Conference October 1998
• "Teaching Chastity and Virtue" by Matthew O. Richardson, Ensign October 2012
• "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet
• Chastity: What are the Limits? Video
• "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"
• "The Infinite Power of Hope", Pres Uchtdorf, General Conference October 2008